Ralph C. Epstein papers

Collection — Box: 1-19

Identifier: 27-F-832

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection documents Ralph C. Epstein's research while he was on faculty at the University of Buffalo, a private institution which was incorporated into New York's state university system in 1962. His main research interests revolved around the Rubber and Automotive Industries in the United States. He was also interested in industry and commerce more broadly and in economics education.

Dates

1930s

Creator

Epstein, Ralph Cecil (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English.

Terms of Access

The Ralph C. Epstein papers, 1930s are open for research.

Copyright

Copyright is held by the State University of New York at Buffalo, University Archives. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Biographical Note

Ralph C. Epstein was born in Chicago, Illinois. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. He received both his masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard University, graduating in 1926.

He joined the faculty of the University of Buffalo in 1926 as a professor in the Economics department. He was dean of the School of Business Administration (later known as the School of Management) from 1935 to 1947, and chairman of the Economics department for over twenty-five years (until the time of his death in1959).

Renowned in his field, Epstein was a member of the American Economic Association, the American Statistical Association, and the National Bureau of Economic Research and a fellow of the Royal Economic Society of England. Over the course of his career, he wrote nine books and more than fifty articles, many of which were published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the American Economic Review, and the Political Science Quarterly.

He was also trustee and vice-president of the Family Service Society of Buffalo, a member of the Buffalo Club and Phi Beta Kappa, national honorary scholastic fraternity, and was active in the Atlantic Union Committee, which he served as a member of the national Board of Governors and president of the local chapter.

Extent

8.75 Linear Feet (17 manuscript boxes, 2 half manuscript boxes)

Additional Description

Abstract

Research collection of Ralph C. Epstein, Dean of the School of Business Administration from 1935 to 1947. Topics included are American Manufacturing and Industry, Unemployment Insurance Law, and the Rubber and Automobile trades.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into two series, a natural division for a collection which was acquired by the University Archives in two different accessions: I. Automobile and Rubber Industries and II. American Manufacturing and Industry.
Each series is further subdivided into a number of subseries. The second series corresponds to a specific research project, while the first provides insight into Epstein's areas of interest more generally.

Acquisition Information

This collection consists of materials from two separate accessions, 74-11-18 and 81-048. A collection of Ralph Epstein's papers, accession 74-11-18, was received by the Archives in 1974 after it was found in storage. The rest of the materials in this collection were separated from a collection of Dean's Office records (accession 81-048) received from the School of Management in 1981.